Recently, energy prices have become a major concern for many consumers. Many consumers also have become increasingly concerned with their impact on the environment. Hence, energy efficient appliances have become increasingly popular with consumers, for example, to lower energy usage expenses associated with the appliances, as well as reducing an impact on the environment.
Many appliances receive an ENERGY STAR rating that indicates the level of energy efficiency of the appliance. The ENERGY STAR program is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy that rates the energy efficiency of products and practices based on whether they meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. The ENERGY STAR label commonly is provided on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. The ENERGY STAR label also has been extended to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. These products may deliver the same or better performance as comparable models while using less energy and saving money.
In order to lower energy costs and protect the environment, there is a need to monitor the actual energy usage of appliances, such as household appliances. Referring to FIG. 1, conventional energy usage or monitoring devices 102 have been installed between a household appliance 104 and an external power source 106 to detect the power usage of the appliance 104. In some conventional systems, the power cord of the appliance is plugged into the energy usage devices, which is in turn plugged into a wall outlet. Other conventional energy usage devices may be mounted to a nearby or adjacent wall and require an extension cord to connect the appliance to the monitoring device.